Supercomputer manufacturer Cray Research Inc, Eagan, Minnesota will release its first Sparc RISC-based superserver in October or November. The system will run the Solaris operating system and come in above Sun Microsystems Inc’s 16 processor SparcCenter 2000 at the top-end of the Sparcsystems market. Cray has been working with Sun for the past 18 months to develop the hardware architecture, and enable Cray applications to run seamlessly under Solaris Unix. The two have focused on ensuring that existing Sun users have an easy upgrade path to the Cray machine should they so desire, and it is likely they will jointly market the new product, although talks on the subject have not yet been concluded. Such a deal would signal that the Cray machine marks the upper limit of Sun’s own high-end system development. Cray said it decided to go with Sparc because it offers the best prospects for customers needing exceptional power. In a further break with tradition, Cray also intends to sell both its entry level supercomputers and the new Sparc superserver via distributors – including Sun’s third party outlets and new channels of its own. It reckons such a strategy is now viable because pricing is low enough for customers to buy the machines without needing major corporate approval. As a result, Cray says it is keen to link up with other companies marketing in this area, and possibly OEM vendors too, although it has no plans to change its direct sales strategy at the top end of the supercomputer market. The new Sparc superserver will be aimed at Cray’s traditional science and engineering base and at commercial and government sectors. Meanwhile Cray’s massively parallel processor based on Digital Equipment Corp’s Alpha AXP RISC is now in beta test and due for release at the end of September.
